Assaulted inmate files $1.45M lawsuit
Ex-prisoner alleges coverup by jail guards
A brain-damaged inmate whose alleged assault at the hands of a guard was a key part of a scathing report by the Ontario ombudsman into the use of excessive force and coverups in the province’s jails has filed a nearly $1.5-million lawsuit.
In a statement of claim filed Friday, Jean Paul Rheaume alleged he was lying facedown on the ground, subdued and under the physical control of five correctional officers, with his arms handcuffed behind his back and feet shackled, when guard John Barbro delivered a number of “vicious kicks and stomps” to his head and torso causing “grievous” injuries.
Barbro has since been fired and was criminally charged with assault causing bodily harm.
Rheaume alleges Barbro, other correctional guards and two operational managers then conspired to cover up the alleged assault by filing false, inaccurate and misleading reports about the Oct. 23, 2010, incident at the OttawaCarleton Detention Centre on Innes Road.
Rheaume, 35, was serving a 30-day sentence for breakand-enter and assault at the time.
The lawsuit comes a little more than three months after a photograph of Rheaume’s bloody and battered face was displayed prominently behind ombudsman André Marin as he outlined the findings of his report into abuse at provincial jails and the “code of silence” that kept guards from reporting their colleagues.
Marin told the Citizen at the time that the OttawaCarleton Detention Centre “exemplifies everything that is wrong in a correctional institution” and was where he found “the worst example of coverup and the excessive use of force.”
“The treatment of Jean Paul Rheaume was reprehensible. The code of silence and coverup should concern us all,” said Rheaume’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon.
Rheaume accuses the guards and the province of assault and battery, forcible confinement, malicious prosecution, gross negligence and breach of fiduciary duty by failing to ensure he was safe while in their custody.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
According to the statement of claim, the coverup included one of the guards falsely alleging that Rheaume had aggressively threatened him and his family.
Rheaume was subsequently sentenced to 30 days in close confinement and a loss of all his jail privileges.
According to the statement of claim, Rheaume alleges his face was permanently disfigured after he suffered multiple lacerations, including a large cut under his left eye. Rheaume alleges he suffered bleeding between his skull and scalp as a result of the attack, which also left him with a swollen right eye, bruises to both ears and the back of his head and abrasions to his neck, chest, upper back, hands and wrist.
The beating left Rheaume with severe headaches and memory deficits, a reduced ability to concentrate, diminished judgment and impulse control and other cognitive deficits, according to the statement of claim.
He also suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder, alleges the lawsuit.
Rheaume suffered from brain damage and had a psychological condition prior to the attack.
According to Rheaume’s father, Jean, his son’s head was run over by a slow-moving car when he was four years old. Rheaume has a long jagged scar that runs down the right side of his face from the incident. Rheaume previously told the Citizen he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but takes medication to stabilize his mood swings.
Rheaume is seeking $1.45 million in general and aggravating damages, including costs for his future care and loss of earning capacity. His mother, Therese Charron, is seeking an additional $100,000 for loss of care, guidance and companionship.
According to the statement of claim, the alleged assault occurred after two other guards inadvertently locked themselves in the cell Rheaume shared with another inmate. The guards were in the cell to “chastise” Rheaume for an earlier verbal exchange, alleged the statement of claim.
After radioing another guard to unlock the door, the two guards removed Rheaume from his cell and pushed him against a wall. They then grounded him, causing his face to hit the floor and door rail, said the statement of claim.
The alleged assault by Barbro allegedly occurred after four other officers restrained Rheaume. According to the statement of claim, Rheaume was then placed in a segregation cell and strip-searched by correctional officers.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services failed to take appropriate disciplinary measures against the employees involved.
The ombudsman’s report said the two guards who initially entered Rheaume’s cell were suspended for 15 and 20 days without pay for using excessive force and filing inaccurate reports.
Four other guards received three-day suspensions, as did an operational manager who witnessed the kicks and failed to follow ministry policy.
The ombudsman’s report also said that on the same day Rheaume alleges he was assaulted, another prisoner complained that he, too, was kicked and punched in the head as he lay handcuffed on the floor.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Community Safety and Corrections declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday.